Ruby's little corner of the world*... (*Updated, see clothing at bottom...)

Ok, so I've been getting emails from people asking about Ruby's room, what's it like, what colors did I pick, etc etc... so, in keeping with the saying " a picture paints a thousand words..."
I'm gonna do a little painting right now for your enjoyment...

This is the Original Bear that I gave to Ruby on 'Gotcha' day on Nov 20th, 2005. I have since retired him so as to avoid him falling apart & we have 3 replacement 'Bears' that she loves and Momma can wash them when they're filthy! (Which is every other day practically!) Also, that card with her name on it in English & Chinese was given to me while at Pearl Market buying Ruby's pearls... wasn't that sweet of the saleswoman? =)

Next, is a tour of Ruby's Bedroom... ENJOY!














And these next few pics are of outfits that I bought for Miss Ruby while in Guangzhou... things there are BEAUTIFUL & CHEAP! Remember this ladies before you travel, DON'T GO INSANE BUYING CLOTHES HERE, TRUST ME, there's far too many gorgeous outfits in china to bring home dirt cheap! =) YOUR HUSBANDS WILL THANK YOU FOR IT & FOR YOU SINGLE GALS, YOUR POCKETBOOK WILL THANK YOU! ;)


Above: Gorgeous crimson colored Linen Dress with embroidered rose accents: $4 american dollars



Red Silk Dress with lots of embroidered accents all over: $4 american dollars



Same thing with this gorgeous teal blue one, how gorgeous is that color? IT'S EVEN PRETTIER WHEN YOU'RE ONLYPAYING 4 AMERICAN BUCKS FOR IT TOO! ;) hehehe Above silk jacket was only $8 american dollars...


And finally, this gorgeous WINTER COAT was ONLY $12 AMERICAN DOLLARS!!! Seriously, please PLEASE save your money, don't give it to China Sprout for clothing, SAVE your MONEY and WAIT till you're in CHINA! The things for sale there are, as you can see, GORGEOUS & REALLY CHEAP! (kinda like me) LOL hahahahaha That's right Ruby, Momma's gorgeous & cheap! HAHAHAA Listen, I too bought things from China Sprout before I left for china & I wouldn't change it because what I bought were little dolls & a couple books I couldn't find anywhere else, but I didn't buy clothes from them & I advise anyone headed there soon to ALSO DO THE SAME. =) You'll be glad you waited! Plus, it just makes more sense to wait till you KNOW how big your child is before buying clothes... that way, you can hold the things up to them to make sure it'll be a good fit first of all, and second of all, IT'S JUST MORE FUN SHOPPING WITH YOUR PRECIOUS BABY! I know Ruby and I had a BLAST on Shaimian Island, Guangzhou!

Hope this was helpful to those of you curious about Ruby's digs'... speaking of little miss Cheeks, she's OUT COLD in bed right now... and Momma has a date with a nice steaming cup of TEA... MY FAVORITE BRAND EVER! If you've never tried it, GET YOUR BUTT TO THE STORE & PICK SOME UP, OMG YOU WON'T BE DISSAPPOINTED! *grin*

G'night all, sweet dreams!

-Amy & one very adorable, very SOUND ASLEEP Miss Ruby Cate. =)

Best Friends...

... can sometimes come in small asian packages.

I LOVE YOU RUBY!!!

Love,

-Momma

Childhood friends & WHY EBAY ROCKS!!! (long story, but a happy ending...)

... ok, so Amy here (Ruby is down for her morning nap) and I was on the phone this morning with my good friend Karen ( Gwen was napping too... ) and we were chatting about her Gwen's little 'blue dog' that she loves & only has ONE of! I began to tell her about the JOYS of EBAY and she said she looked but couldn't find it... I then shared with Karen the story of 'William Bear' and how I wanted to find one 'just like him' for my Ruby. Now, Ruby has since obviously fallen in love with her good friend Bear, so right now this story is gonna seem silly but SOMEDAY she may fall for her updated version of MY childhood friend. Here's the story:

When I was about 11 years old, my mom took me to Marshalls one day & you know how kids are when they're dragged to go shopping, I did what any decent 11 year old kid would do, SEARCH OUT THE TOYS to at least make this mandatory time in a 'grown up store' BEARABLE! (no pun intended...)

I found a HUGE BIN FUL OF THESE ADORABLE BEARS! They were made by Gund (still one of my FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL BRANDS TO THIS DAY!) and I don't remember how much they were but they were all the SAME BEAR in this HUGE bin & this particular one kept looking at me & was begging me to take him home & love him. So after several " Aw, c'mon mom pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease" comments, Chip Chip came home with me. He was HANDS DOWN my favorite bear EVER...
(fast forward about 2 years...)

I'm 13 now, and Chip Chip comes with me EVERYWHERE... this particular time he found himself on a plane headed with me and my family to ITALY to visit relatives!
While there, my good friend William (Italian & 15 at the time & CUTE AS A BUTTON TO ME!) was admiring Chip Chip and said he had never had a bear so cute cuz they didn't have them that cute in Italy. (keep in mind I was diggin' William big time) so I let him play with Chip Chip and it just got more involved from there... by the time we were ready to leave a few weeks later, William was giving Chip Chip a bigger hug than he was giving me & my heart turned to mush & I asked William if he would like to KEEP Chip Chip? OMG HE WAS THRILLED! He said he would take good care of him & always remember me every night when he held him as he slept... so I hugged my beloved friend one last time & then hugged William as well & with tears in my eyes, I went back to my Zia's (aunt's) house to sleep one last night in Italy before flying home the next day. It was the LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE! Sleeping without my fuzzy friend wrapped up in my arms was just the hardest thing I'd ever done to that point but I knew I did the right thing... first big lesson as a kid of 13, sometimes doing the right thing isn't always easy.

(fastforward a few months)

Mom and I go back to Marshalls for a shopping trip, I ONLY WENT because in my heart I just KNEW that they would HAVE TO HAVE another bin FULL of my FUZZY FRIEND! And even though the chances were slim, off to the 'grownup store' I went, purely out of desperation for a chance to find another one of my beloved night time companion. *fingers crossed wishing so loud in my head I started speaking out loud* " Please God let there be another Chip Chip... PLEASE !" " I'll make my bed every morning!, I'll eat all my broccoli! ... etc " (bargaining began, it wasn't pretty!)

We get there, Mom starts shopping (aka:browsing, a several hour event...) and I frantically search every last BIN in the store for my long lost friend who now lives in Cretone, Italy.

Bin after bin, nothing... finally, when I was just about to give up, there was one last bin I hadn't looked in and I thought, well I'll look but I know he's not there... followed by some whining of "Can we just go home nooooww Mom, pleeeeeease????"

I go over & peek inside and OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG CHIP CHIP'S HALF WAY UP THE BIN WALLS! I could barely reach in deep enough to get one but the first one I got my hands on was INSTANTLY MY NEW FRIEND!


Now, I knew it wasn't my original Chip Chip, he could never truly be replaced BUT this new little guy was still cute and I loved him already... so Mom said she'd get him & on the ride home I was thinking of what to call him, as I would be giving him a different name, his OWN name...

Then it occured to me, to always remember Chip Chip & where he is now, I named my new friend 'William Bear' after my good friend William and now Chip Chip's new 'Dad'...

So, William bear was ADOPTED and has been my night time SNUGGLE FRIEND EVER SINCE! YEP, THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, I'M 33 AND I STILL SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT FAIL! When I go to a friends house to spend the night, William goes too... =)


(it's faint but can you see that, 1981 on the tag? MAN I'M OLD!)

Now, he's been MUCH LOVED (as you can see) over these past 20 years and it shows but I wouldn't have it any other way! (he fits perfectly between my 'girls' if you know what I mean... any women out there bigger than a b cup UNDERSTANDS WHAT I'M TALKIN' BOUT!) hee hee that's one LUCKY BEAR! hehehe ;)

So, I knew I wanted to try to find Ruby her very own 'William Bear' and thought, UGH he's SO OLD I'll probably NEVER find him... but if I'm nothing else, I'm DETERMINED! So, I went to the gund site first, no luck, hit a few 'Marshall's stores', still no luck... then it dawned on me...
EBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for weeks I searched hoping to find a needle in a haystack...
... OUCH! What the hell was that I just sat on? OMG YOU'VE GOTTA BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!!! A NEEDLE?!!#@?%#%$^#$%^ WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU TO SAID "NEEDLE" from my childhood HAYSTACK:


I NEARLY SHIT MYSELF WHEN I FOUND HIM!!!!!!! Who the HELL WOULD BUY HIM & KEEP HIM IN THIS PRISTINE CONDITION ALL THESE YEARS??????#$% WHO CARES?$%#$%$ HE'S MINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, he's Ruby's now, but truth be told, she has yet to look twice at him because there is only ONE BEAR in her life currently... and who knows, maybe she'll never fall in love with him, maybe she'll ALWAYS ONLY love BEAR, but either way, this newest bear is here to stay & if she doesn't want him, I know of a perfect spot for this little guy every night. =) He'll just have to share with William that's all! ;) (with aging comes GRAVITY and NOT in the good perky way, if you know what I'm sayin!!!) A 'Backup Bear' ISN'T A BAD IDEA! hehehehe


So Karen, PLEASE LET ME FIND YOUR NEEDLE IN YOUR BLUE DOG HAYSTACK!!!!! =)

I'm up for the challenge girlie! LET'S DO THIS! =)

-Amy

PS. Give your precious P.B. a hug for me & let him know that his Momma isn't the only silly adult who STILL loves her childhood friend, regardless of everything (*grin*) they've been through over these many many MANY years! (Yes Karen, we're OLD! ) ;)

Good Morning 2006* (*UPDATED, SCROLL TO BOTTOM!!!)

Well, it's here, another year and I'm RARING TO GO for my first EVER morning of 2006 here in MA with Momma! =) We started with a lovely breakfast of soft boiled egg's & whole grain english muffin & milk, next was play time with blocks & Bear and then Momma gave me a nice toasty bath & I DON'T SCREAM BLOODY MURDER ANYMORE WHEN SHE PUTS ME IN THE TUB!!! Huge accomplishment she says! And now I'm all cozy in my cute overalls from Old Navy that Nanna bought me and Bear, Dog and I are all snug in my playpen watching my favorite show & soon to fall asleep for our morning nap for SURE!




Momma says that when I go to sleep with damp hair I wake up with the BEST HAIR FOR PUTTING A BOW IN! So... we shall see, more later when I've woken up to see the status THAT! ;)



For now, Bear and I have a date with some serious cuddle time...

G'night for now!



Shhhhhhh... we're sleeping...


My nap with Bear and Dog was delightful and I didn't have much in the way of 'bed head' so no bow for me today, sorry guys! However, Aunt CATHERINE came over & we PLAYED!


She's helpful when I drop stuff on the floor & we'd both say 'UH-OH' !! hee hee She's funny! ;)




She makes silly faces too, and I DIG THAT!!!!!!! She's MY KINDA GAL!



And she didn't even mind listening to my 'leap frog' fridge farm OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER! That's PRETTY BIG IN THIS HOUSE considering that I LISTEN TO THAT THING ALL DAY! (Momma once said something to the effect of tossing herself under a bus but I didn't catch the whole thing, does that mean she doesn't like it much?) LOL



Lucky for me I'm SO GOSH DARN CUTE! I think I can pretty much do anything around here cuz I'm just my Momma's best friend! =) And she's mine! And Ebenezer can share us both! ;)

WE LOVE YOU EBBY!

Now, it's time for me to go to bed & Momma and Aunt Catherine are about to go have something called a S'more? I don't know what that is but Momma says it's the BEST WAY TO END ANY AND EVERY DAY!!!!! And Aunt Catherine COMPLETELY AGREES! So, this is what they have set up in the kitchen, should I be jealous?




Eh, I'll figure it out tomorrow, right now Bear and Dog and I have another date, this time it's with my bed... G'NIGHT EVERYONE!

-Ruby & Gang

PSSSST... IT'S ME MOMMA, DON'T TELL RUBY BUT I HAVE JUST GOT TO SHARE THIS LINK WITH YOU ALL!!! OMG, ONE WORD OF CAUTION, DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU SEE THIS, DON'T BE DRINKING, DON'T BE EATING S'MORES' (DELICIOUS BY THE WAY) DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY INJURE YOU SHOULD IT COME SHOOTING OUT YOUR NOSE VIA WAY OF A SERIOUSLY DEADLY SNARF!! OMG THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH AUNTIE JEN AND UNCLE ELVIS FOR SHARING

THIS

WITH ME IN EMAIL JUST NOW, OMG I THINK I WET MY PANTS!!!!! GOOD LORD!!!!!! BETWEEN THIS AND THE CHOCOLATE I'LL NEVER GET TO SLEEP NOW! HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA LMAO!!!!!

-MOMMA

1'ST ANNUAL RUBY & MOMMA 'PAJAMA NEW YEAR'!!!

Hey everyone! It's me, RUBY! And I'm partying with my Momma and my Aunt Catherine tonight to celebrate THE NEW YEAR 2006!!!!!!! Momma, long before she ever met me, used to do this thing called 'Pajama New Year' every year with her friends where they'd all get together for a big long party and EVERYONE COULD ONLY WEAR PAJAMAS TO THE PARTY! Momma loved it so much that she wanted to do it again this year but she said that since I'm here it's going to be the BEST PAJAMA NEW YEAR EVER!!!!!! So, since I'm here, Momma's calling it our 'FIRST ANNUAL RUBY AND MOMMA PAJAMA NEW YEAR!'

I am not sure if this is just a 'New England' thing but every year on New Years Eve, EVERYONE orders CHINESE FOOD for dinner! So if you don't order HOURS BEFORE (Momma ordered ours at 2pm today) then you WON'T GET ANY cuz EVERYONE DOES IT AROUND HERE! It may just be something that us crazy Bostonians do but hey, I was PSYCHED cuz I loved the Lomein and the egg foo young and the rice too! Momma wasn't all that psyched, she said she'd seen & eaten ENOUGH chinese food to last herself a LIFETIME but since it's tradition, we got it & Aunt Catherine was excited. =)


We're gonna be busy partying but check back in a little bit for some pics! I PROMISE WE'LL POST SOME! We have to, I'm wearing my ADORABLE SNOW MAN PJ'S THAT MY NANNA BOUGHT ME! And I think Momma has some special pj's picked out too! Aunt Catherine brought some as well & we're ALL GONNA PAJAMA PARTY DOWN TONIGHT!!!!!!!

That's all for now, MORE LATER!


Ok, it's later & Momma put two pics on the blog, the first is obviously of us at the top, AREN'T MY JAMMIES CUTE??? And this one above is of me and my Aunt Catherine! She is a slacker tonight & hasn't gotten into her sweats yet but SHE BEST GET CRACKIN' IF SHE WANTS TO BE OFFICIAL FOR OUR PAJAMA NEW YEAR!!! C'mon woman, GO GET CHANGED!!!

More pics later I'm sure!

-Ruby Cate

XOXOXO TO EVERYONE!

=)


Ok, so Ebenezer seems less than enthused about this whole 'pajama' thing... at least Momma let him sit in HER SPECIAL CHAIR! =) Lucky dog!


Yep, that's right, I came over to try to cheer Ebenezer up a little but for as much as he was unimpressed with our Pj's, he was even LESS ENTHUSED about my new toy~! 'MOMMA LET ME PLAY WITH THE TIVO REMOTE!!!' man do I LOVE this thing!





Although, I'm pretty sure she took the batteries out cuz I can't make the channel change! MOMMA! NOT FAIR!!




Hey Momma, thanks for giving me back the batteries! Now, let's put something GOOD ON!




YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! NOGGIN!!!!!!! MY FAVORITE SHOW IS ON!!! IT'S JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I watch it every day & Momma saves my favorite eppisodes on TiVo! THANKS MOMMA!!!!!! I LOVE THE MUSIC & THE DANCING!!! =) NOW THIS IS A PARTY!!!!!!!!!



And since Ebenezer didn't have anything fun to play with, Momma gave him her Cell phone, but again, it wasn't a cookie, so he was just not impressed... ;)

Is everyone else having as MUCH FUN AS WE ARE?????????????? HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Ruby Cate

God bless her little sleeping soul!

I just had to share this with all of you... And let me preface this by saying that since the first night in China, my little Ruby girl slept through pretty much ANY NOISE KNOWN TO MAN! TV, ringing phone, traffic, screaming children in hotel hallways, shoppers passing by her carriage as her little body lay sound asleep in the comfort of her quiet corner of the world, etc... Ok, THAT SAID... Ruby barely had any naps today when normally she has two naps. One morning & one afternoon, each at least an hour but sometimes an hour & a half. Today however, she got only two very small, very short 20 minute naps... Which HARDLY is enough sleep for one so small. As you can imagine, once my girl conked out for the night she was really DOWN FOR THE COUNT! So... I just peeked in on her little sleeping body & was nearly KNOCKED OVER BY AN OH SO FAMILIAR SMELL! Good LORD did this child fill her diaper with just about everything INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK! So, I felt awful but knew I would not let her sleep in that! So off to pick her up I went & let me just tell you ... My beautiful little girl did not wake up ONCE! SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE ENTIRE DIAPER CHANGE WITHOUT EVEN SO MUCH AS CRACKING OPEN AN EYE!!! I cleaned her all up, zipped up her feetie jammies & laid her and Bear back down in their crib. (she had Bear clutched in her little hands when I picked her up & held onto her friend for DEAR LIFE & never let go once...) It was like this whole diaper change DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL! My daughter continued to sleep soundly with her friend Bear at her side. Not a peep, not a moan, just SNORING! hahahahaha I LOVE THIS KID SHE JUST ROCKS MY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO MY BABY LOVES TO SLEEP AND I'M ONE VERY LUCKY MOMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: I almost forgot... ONE MONTH AGO TODAY Ruby and I arrived back home together! I CAN'T BELIEVE we've already been home a month! Where does the time go?? All I know is that it's been HANDS DOWN the BEST MONTH OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!!!! I know there are more to come but honestly... I have one question: WHY DIDN'T TIME FLY LIKE THIS WHEN I WAS WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING FOR THAT REFERRAL? AND THEN THE TA? This goes out to ALL OF YOU in the midst of the 'BIG WAIT'... HANG IN THERE, I KNOW THE WAITING SUCKS BUT YOU REALLY DO HAVE A POT OF GOLD WAITING FOR YOU AT THE END OF YOUR WAITING RAINBOW! (I promise!) I'll keep you ALL in my thoughts & prayers until each & every one of you have your precious children home safe & sound in your arms!